I am going to get my first fillings in a few hours. In addition to that, I'm dealing with increased pain and will be soon having multiple crowns put in. Please suggest some fall meals that meet the following criteria.

1. Have protein at least as a major ingredient.2. Are hearty/comforting.3. Aren't very hard to chew (as I'll be doing the dental work thing).4. Have a significant nutrient punch (good amount of calories and nutrition per amount ingested is more important than low calorie at this point for me).

Note: I love comfort food, soups, stews, and things that are savory, but sweet things are also ok to add in. I'm trying to figure out how to make it through my dental work without losing more weight at this point. The only 2 ideas I've come up with so far are to do the classic tomato soup with grilled cheddar sandwich, the tuna or chicken stuffed potatos, and my chicken and dumpling recipe that I loved so much. Other ideas?

this bean stew is good While the calories aren't super high, it is great for protein. Seriously hook yourself up with the beans. If you need a few extra calories in the soup, make it non-vegan and chop up a bit of bacon/pancetta, fry it up and toss it into the soup.The kale and beans in particular are insanely good for you.

Shepherd's pie. root vegetables! lamb (which is also easier to digest than beef) and some calories/protein.Even my kid loves this and it is easy for him to chew.You can vary the vegetables you use. Last night I made this and I tossed in rhutebaga, a golden beet and some carrots.

Roast the squash, mash/puree it with a bit of butter and then combine it with vegetable/chicken stock and voila a bit of soup. Add seasonings as you like them. Maybe add a bit of cream to make it even more smooth and sprinkle a little bacon on top for a garnish.

I always split my squash (acorn and butternut) in half, put a dollup of butter in the hole on each side where I took out the seeds, and bake it. Then when it is tender (about an hour) I take it out, scoop it out of its shell and mash it all up together. (Also good with brown sugar baked in, but that doesn't do much for keeping the calories low...hehe!)

What about split pea soup? I love it with ham or bacon added, it has tons of protein, and is easy to chew; you can puree all or just some of the peas, once cooked, to vary how much chewing would be required, and if the ham is too difficult, you can mince or leave out entirely.

Some may need to be modified to be lower in fat, as they are focused on low carb, and many use butter and heavy cream. But I like that they give me a wider variety of ideas to start from, then I can modify to fit my needs.

Personally, I want to try The Soup Nazi's Crab Bisque from the Soups and Salads section.

One of my favorite easy meals is broiled chicken (or roasted, whatever) cut into bite-sized pieces and mixed with green beans and Pastaroni shells and white cheddar. For when you can chew stuff that isn't too chewy or crunchy. I usually use the frozen skinless boneless chicken you can get in bags, bake it up, add the other stuff and I have a complete dinner in 15 minutes. And it's very tasty.